1. Field of the Invention
This invention is generally directed to bag holders of the type which are utilized to support flexible bags in an open configuration so as to facilitate the filling of the bags and more specifically to retention ring assemblies for supporting one or more refuse, garbage or lawn and garden bags relative to a support surface in such a manner that the support rings which retain the bags in open configuration may be stored in an out of the way location when not in use and may be easily placed within a support rack wherein the rings are cantilevered from the rack in such a manner that the rings are supported without the need for providing additional fastening elements to support the rings relative to the rack or a structure to which the rack is mounted. The racks include a pair of vertically spaced members which are disposed in generally parallel planes and which may include either elongated rod members or circular members which are also horizontally offset with respect to one another so as to provide a pair of spaced contact points which engage the support rings at spaced locations along the periphery thereof so that the weight of the rings is utilized to secure the rings within the racks. In this manner, rings may be removed by simply elevating the outer portion of the rings which is cantilevered with respect to the support members and thereafter withdrawing the rings from the pair of spaced members forming the mounting rack.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the racks may be formed by elongated spaced rod members which are provided with hook elements which support the rod members relative to a support surface such as a fence, doorknob or similar structure so that the retention ring assemblies may be supported in an area where it is necessary to provide easy access to fill a refuse, garbage or lawn and garden bag. In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the support racks may be suspended from the handle of a lawn mower or other object by providing an elongated support or hanger member which is connected at its ends with the uppermost of the members forming the support rack. In this respect, lawn and garbage bags may be suspended from the handle of conventional lawn mowers so as to facilitate the filling of lawn and garbage bags with cut grass and other lawn and garden debris.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the retention ring assemblies may be supported by rack configurations which are designed to be cooperatively seated on the upper rim of a conventional garbage can. In this manner, a plurality of separate bags and support rings may be cantilevered from the support racks so that a plurality of garbage bags may be filled while the racks are supported by the conventional garbage can.
In yet a further embodiment of the present invention, the retention ring assemblies may include support racks which are themselves free standing and which form the base for supporting conventional garbage containers so that the garbage containers are not only supported so that the containers will not be easily overturned but so that the support racks forming the retention ring assemblies may be utilized to fill garbage bags which will thereafter be placed within the garbage cans supported on the retention ring assembly stands.
2. History of the Related Art
Over the years there have been numerous structures designed and constructed for facilitating the use of various types of bags including garbage bags, lawn and garden bags and the like. The opening to such flexible type of bags and containers is often difficult to retain open while attempting to load substantial amounts of materials into the bags. This is particularly true in uses such as lawn and garden care wherein armfuls of leaves, cut grass, weeds and the like are to be loaded within the bags for subsequent disposal. Some early examples of ring type structures which operate as bag holders are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 313,515 to Parker, U.S. Pat. No. 432,966 to Allen, U.S. Pat. No. 611,498 to Lyon and U.S. Pat. No. 1,548,986 to Donovan. In each of these prior art bag holders, a ring element or semi-circular ring element is provided which is secured to a mounting base portion that extends from the ring element or semi-circular ring element to a support which may be selectively secured to a given surface. In the reference to Parker, the ring or bag holder must be uniquely configured so as to be engageable over a support surface and therefore is provided with inverted U-shaped end portions which are joined by a connecting bracket. The U-shaped end portions may be mounted over a rail or other element so that the bag holder may be suspended horizontally with respect thereto. Such a structure is limited in its usefulness in that an appropriate horizontal support must be available on which the U-shaped mounting portions of the bag holder may be selectively seated so as to retain the ring portion of the bag holder in a selected horizontal position. Further, when the ring element of the bag holder is not in use, the U-shaped mounting portions will extend from the ring element thereby making storage somewhat difficult.
In the structure disclosed in the reference to Allen, a generally U-shaped bag holder element is selectively inserted within a pair of adjustable brackets which may be disposed over a horizontal rail in a manner similar to that disclosed in the reference to Parker. Again, the use of the bag holder is limited to the type of support surface which is available with such support surface not necessarily being conducive to use in supporting bags in various environments such as in an area where no fence or other horizontal rail is available. Also, the support brackets in which the U-shaped bag holder is selectively inserted require additional structure which adds to the cost of the bag holder which decreases the availability of such a product for the average consumer.
In the reference to Lyon, the generally circular shaped bag holding element is mounted to a special bracket which is suspended from a hook type of support which is specifically provided to support the bracket and ring relative to a base. With this type of structure, the ring element must again be provided with a fixed type of mounting bracket that is secured to the ring so that the ring may be selectively secured to a supplemental mounting structure. In view of the foregoing, whenever the ring element is not in use, the support bracket is always attached thereto. A similar arrangement is disclosed in the reference to Donovan wherein the ring shaped element is mounted to a generally U-shape mounting bar which is fitted within an especially configured bracket that may be secured to a vertical support surface. With this structure, not only is it necessary to provide the ring member for insuring the open configuration of the bag supported from the ring, but it is also necessary to provide the U-shaped bracket which fits within a supplemental bracket that is secured to the support surface.
A variation of bag holder is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 972,870 to Kandlbinder. In this type of bag holder, as opposed to using a circular or ring element to support the opening of the bag, a spring loaded wire member is provided having a pair of outwardly extending arms which are yieldable with respect to one another. The arms are engageable along opposite sides of the bag so as to deflect the bag outwardly. This type of holder will tend to provide an uneven opening for the mouth of the bag as opposed to the ring type holders as disclosed in the prior art discussed above. In addition, a special type of support must be provided to retain the end of the spring arms relative to a given surface. Another wire rack type configuration for supporting bags in an open configuration is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,498,652 to Malik. In this configuration, a generally rectilinear wire frame is supported by a pair of hook elements that are secured to the interior door of a cabinet or other structure so that the bag may be supported from the door in an open configuration. With this type of structure, the mounting of the rack with respect to the door requires that some modification be made to the door such as by providing securing elements for engaging the ends of the rack to the door. Such a fixed mounting arrangement may present drawbacks to the use of the bag holder.
In addition to the foregoing, carriers for bag holders have also been made so that the bags supported by the holders may be manipulated without requiring an individual to lift and tote the bag. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,754,771 to Shagoury and U.S. Pat. No. 4,124,185 to Preisinger, bag holders are disclosed which are mounted to transport dollies. The transport dollies are provided with wheels so that the dollies may be easily transported across an individual's lawn or yard. With these types of holders, a ring element is either fixedly mounted, as in the case of the patent to Shagoury, to the dolly frame or is removably mounted as is disclosed in the patent to Preisinger. However, as was discussed above with respect to the earlier bag holders, each of the ring elements of the mobile bag holders must be mounted to a supplemental bracket and the supplemental bracket is thereafter secured to the frame of the dolly. Such additional structure adds to the expense of the bag holder and also complicates the storage of the bag support rings when the rings are not in use.
Some additional examples of prior art bag holders are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. DES 276,755 to Eads et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,991,691 to Platzer, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 3,684,225 to Crawford et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,307 to Malik and U.S. Pat. No. 4,702,445 to Ivory. In view of the foregoing, there are several areas in which the prior art bag holders have not been designed to provide sufficient flexibility to allow their use in environments where it is not possible to effectively fixedly or permanently mount the bag holders to a support surface and wherein no attempt has been made to utilize existing containers and lawn and garden equipment to be utilized to support bag holders in areas where the bag holders are to be utilized.